And so for those wondering how my birthday went…
June 4, 2008, 2:07 PM
My birthday weekend went quite well, thank you. I spent my actual birthday at home, where I wrote a Wikipedia article about October Rebellion. Yes, that October Rebellion. I had a great time writing that article, though it’s not often that I’ll sit down and write a new article from scratch and go hunting for reliable sources and such.
Then the next day, Mom and Dad came to visit – just for the day. We went to downtown Silver Spring, where we had a birthday lunch at Austin Grill, a restaurant that serves Mexican food. As we were coming in, rain appeared to be imminent, and yet some people still wanted to be seated outside, and stayed outside, even as the rain started coming down. There was a very small overhang that these people ate under, and I presume they stayed dry for the most part.
At the restaurant, Mom committed what would be considered a major sin if you like to stay in the good graces of your companions. She told the server that it was my birthday. Now I admit that she didn’t mean to let that out in front of the waitstaff. It slipped out unintentionally. But you know how it is… if you say “birthday” to a server, next thing you know, you have ALL of them marching in clapping, and singing happy birthday to you. Once we realized Mom’s error, we flagged the server again about the birthday thing, and good news – Austin Grill doesn’t sing. Very good.
Continue reading…I also got my “V for Vendetta” mask, and saw the related movie.
May 25, 2008, 5:39 PM
Yeah, my Guy Fawkes masks arrived on Friday. I had them delivered to the house, and they were in a smaller box than I expected, but it works. Anonymous has grown accustomed to how I look in the bandanna, so it’s time to mix things up a bit. And for the next Anonymous raid, which is going to be pirate-themed, a Guy Fawkes mask looks more pirate-like than anything else I can think of. Plus there’s a party store in a shopping center right around the corner from where I live, and there are a lot of pirate things there. I think this might just work, don’t you know.
And on Saturday, Jeff, Isis, and Isis’s daughter all came over to my house, and, after getting Chipotle to go, we sat down and watched V for Vendetta, which Isis has on DVD. What an amazing movie. Watching the movie really brings a lot of why it’s a popular choice for Anonymous into perspective. With constant video surveillance, the V masks made everyone look alike, thus surveillance-proof. Just like we do for the Scilons. In fact, they showed a huge mass of people all wearing Guy Fawkes masks at the end of the movie. Plus the special effects were awesome, as they blew up the Palace of Westminster at the end of the movie.
And of course, it was a quite appropriate setting to watch the movie in, since I have a V for Vendetta mask hanging from the wall for now:
A belated reportback is better than no reportback at all, I suppose.
May 25, 2008, 5:29 PM
Hey, I’ve been busy. So sue me. But I must report back that Katie and I had a great time last weekend. We went all over the place, and had a great time.
However, it started out somewhat rough – Katie took the train up to DC, specifically the Cardinal. And it was late. According to AmtrakDelays.com, on May 16, the eastbound Cardinal, train #50, was an hour and 42 minutes late arriving in Staunton, where Katie got on. Then at Union Station, where I was waiting for her, the train managed to rack up another 44 minutes of delays, and thus ended up getting in at 8:21 PM. That would make it two hours and 26 minutes late. This thing was supposed to show up at 5:55 PM, which would have fit my schedule quite nicely. Leave work, take Metro to Union Station, wait a few minutes, get Katie, and then ride back to Glenmont. However, I found out about the Staunton delay from Katie well in advance, so no problems there. I compensated other places as far as that delay went, and ended up staying later at work, since there were a few things I needed to take care of anyway, and planned to arrive in time for the new delayed arrival. Okay.
So arriving at Union Station, I got in, and immediately checked the boards to see what the deal was. Another delay. Lovely. So I ended up just kind of wandering around Union Station for the next two hours, as I had nothing else to do. I was totally unprepared for a longer delay. However, I did have my iPod, and so at least I got to listen to Randi Rhodes (now on Nova M Radio!). And with headphones on was how I passed a good hour or so of that delay, as I went in and out of stores, seeing what amused me. I also managed to find a relatively quiet corner of the station to make a phone call, finding out about how things were going on the train from Katie. That quiet spot ended up being in a far corner of the parking garage, interestingly enough. But hey, it was nice out, so it worked. I got to watch train movements north of the station, and found out that the initial delay was due to weather, and then heavy rail traffic caused the delays closer in. Okay. Beyond the control of either one of us. What are you going to do, I suppose.
Categories: Activism, Amtrak, Arlington, Arundel Mills, Katie, Project Chanology, Security, Washington DC, Wikipedia
“Chad Sinclair, come on down! You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right!”
March 14, 2008, 11:27 PM
How cool to see someone you know on The Price is Right. Chad Sinclair is the son of two of Mom’s coworkers at Stuarts Draft Middle School, and recently was on the February 19 episode of The Price is Right with Drew Carey. Chad won a home gym, and a year’s supply of Hot Pockets from his time in Contestants’ Row, where he made the classic bid of $1. Then he played “Switch?“, a fairly quick and simple pricing game that involves deciding whether to switch the prices of two prizes or to leave them in place. He was playing for a popcorn cart and a stainless steel oven. You may recall that this was pricing game #5 in The East Coast Price is Right that I hosted in high school back in 1999. Easy game to play. Unfortunately, Chad didn’t win, as he switched, and he should have left them alone. Ah, well. Then he did well on the wheel, but got bumped from the showcase by a trucker named Leroy who was closer to the dollar than Chad.
Chad also made sure to get all of his hellos in while on the show. He mentioned Bridgewater College, and he said hello to his parents in Stuarts Draft. Little Stuarts Draft (where I am writing you from today), getting mentioned on The Price is Right. Awwww…
So all in all, that was pretty darn cool, if you ask me. Plus we’re still watching Drew Carey get settled into his role as host. I think that Drew Carey will ultimately do well on The Price is Right, but he’s still got to find his stride. Give him a couple of seasons, and Drew Carey on Price is Right will seem the most natural thing in the world.
Categories: Friends, Television
iMac takes Metro?
February 10, 2008, 11:51 AM
This past week, I had two things that were worth a shot or two, and so I thought I’d share…
First of all, Katie and her mother went up to Leesburg in northern Virginia to see her brother and his family. And while she was up there, we also got together. The surprise of the evening was that prior to my arrival, her brother’s wife styled her hair. So here’s a photo of the one and only time she’ll be all curly, taken here at Chili’s, where we had dinner:
What a fun weekend!
November 25, 2007, 8:38 AM
All in all, I had a fun Thanksgiving weekend in Stuarts Draft, but I’m still very glad to be home again.
Thanksgiving itself involved the usual – turkey, and all the various fixings to go with it, and then falling asleep afterwards.
Then I spent Friday with Katie. We had a blast, as we did anything but shop. We went on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while, then rode back around to Charlottesville, where we went to the Mellow Mushroom, where we had a vegetarian pizza with a pesto base. Twas awesome.
However, before Katie and I started out, we got a movie of Katie’s cat Peabo chasing a laser pointer around…
Categories: Charlottesville, Driving, Food and drink, High school, Katie, Target, Thanksgiving, Walmart, Waynesboro Outlet Village
Four days and counting…
September 24, 2007, 2:33 PM
I am excited! In four days, my friend Katie is coming to visit me up in Maryland. She’s going to be taking Amtrak from Charlottesville to Union Station, and will be staying three nights. It’s going to be so much fun! I’m taking the day off on Friday, and so after I spend much of the day cleaning and scrubbing and making the place look really nice for Katie’s arrival, I’m going to hop on the Metro and ride into DC to go to Union Station to meet her. We’re going to have such fun, too.
Otherwise, I finally finished College Life last night, and so now it’s all back together and looks goooooood. It’s designed a little differently than it was before, with a left-hand menu like Schumin Web. And it’s also up to my current design standards, which required a bit of retrofitting. But we’re done. I’m tickled.
And now, the next thing to do is a small update on the discussion forums, and then Transit Center. That’s going to be fun. Transit Center is not going to be a simple restoration. No way. Transit Center was incredibly cumbersome to handle before, which is why updates were so few – because it was too much of a pain in the butt to deal with. Now, I’m rewriting everything from scratch.
So all in all, I’m excited about this weekend, and in the meantime, I still have plenty to do…
Categories: Katie, Schumin Web meta
Which leaves you more winded?
September 17, 2007, 2:23 PM
Which leaves you more winded? An anti-war protest, or the Dupont Circle escalator? The escalator. This morning, coming out of the Metro on my way to work, the “up” escalator was not running at Dupont Circle. So I had to climb up rather than ride it up. And for those not familiar, Dupont Circle is a DEEP station. So that’s a lot of steps. And stopping is not an option, either, as you have a whole bunch of my fellow morning commuters right behind me, already cranky for having to climb the equivalent of several stories’ worth of stairs to get to work, before the day’s first cup of coffee. So that was no fun.
And out of three escalators, the only working escalator was going down. But hey, I got my cardio workout for the day.
Meanwhile, since I mention it, I did go to the September 15 protest, and what a great time I had. I went with Maddy, Olga, and Jeff, and went with the Radical Cheerleading DC group. What an awesome time. I also ran into Isis, whom I’d first met in June. And I also spent some time with SDS. It was awesome!
So I guess you could say I had a good time in Stuarts Draft over the weekend…
September 11, 2007, 10:48 PM
All in all, I did have a good time. Spent time with the parents on Saturday, and with Katie on Sunday. We had a blast, too.
First of all, on the way in, as I mentioned, I photographed the Starbucks in Waynesboro at the request of a coworker, and here it is:
Categories: Driving, Katie, Waynesboro, Waynesboro Outlet Village
Heading out for a weekend away from DC…
September 8, 2007, 8:21 AM
I tell you, I do love living in the DC area. However, occasionally, one must escape. And Mom will be glad to see me this weekend.
I’m actually going to be leaving in about ten minutes, and meeting Mom in Harrisonburg. There, we’re going to Costco, and doing whatever other Harrisonburg stuff we decide, then going back to Stuarts Draft. Well, actually, I’m not going back right away – I’m swinging by Satan’s Playground (Sis’s term for our ex-store) to go to SmartStyle to get a haircut. Plus I’ve not been in there since June, and so I’ve not seen a lot of people over there. There are a few folks over there that I actually miss.
Then at home, I get to see Greta again. Seeing Greta’s always a treat, since dogs don’t talk, thus I can’t catch up with Greta over the phone like I do with the humans.
And on Sunday? I get to see Katie! We’re going to go to Shoney’s, and also get her some train reservations for her DC trip at the end of this month. End of this month, she’s coming over to see me and we’re going to like run around DC and do whatever. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
Then in that weird twist of things, I’m also doing some photo work for a few of my coworkers who want to see the free-standing Starbucks in Waynesboro complete with drive-through (that will be providing its customers with hormone-free milk by the end of the year), as well as a few of the sights of Stuarts Draft.
So this ought to be a fun weekend. See you in Draft!
“And just where they should stick out…”
August 12, 2007, 6:40 PM
On the way back to DC, I visited with my friend Katie for a few hours. We went out for breakfast, and then just kind of hung around for a bit. Fun times.
Meanwhile, in the car on the way to breakfast, I played Katie the song that Randi Rhodes plays every Friday on her show. Turns out that Katie and her mother enjoy the song, too! And Katie knows the words about as well as I do. Funny moment. We were going along with the song:
You know girls, men aren’t the only people in the world today that have something to give, but it sure looks like it sometimes. Just look around you – men stick out all over the place. Big fat cigars! Big fat stomachs! And just where they should stick out – phhbtt! – where is it?!
July 4 photos…
July 9, 2007, 9:22 PM
Greetings, all! Finally I get an opportunity to share the photos from my Fourth of July. As I mentioned, my protest buddies and I all got together to counter-protest a group that ended up being a no-show, but we still had fun with it.
Maddy by far had the most interesting shirt, working the peace sign and the anarchy sign in there with her “Who you callin a terrorist?” shirt.
A couple of pictures I found amusing…
June 27, 2007, 10:08 PM
Did I mention how much I love living in the DC area? I really enjoy life in and around Washington. You see so many interesting things and so many interesting things happen. And I have a couple of amusing photos that I captured with my cell phone…
Categories: Amusing, Friends, Washington DC, WMATA
What a fun weekend…
June 24, 2007, 6:52 PM
The weekend went really well! Patrick came over on Saturday, and it was a lot of fun. One question Patrick had was whether Mom had gotten used to my being gone. My exact comment was, “Do you want to see how used to it she’s gotten? Come look at this.” And I showed him my old bedroom, which Mom totally redecorated, as I described earlier. Then Patrick, Sis, and I went to Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville, where we split two pizzas amongst the three of us. One was a vegetarian pizza, with a pesto base, and lots of tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms. Then the other was a cheese pizza with mozzarella and feta cheese. Really good stuff.
Then after Patrick left to go back to Harrisonburg, I kind of crashed myself. I slept on that futon Mom got. It was a futon. It’s firmer than mine, and Mom put a fitted sheet over the futon cover, since she claimed the texture of the cover would be uncomfortable to sleep on. I said don’t worry about it, since I would likely be too tired to care, but she insisted, and so it was. And when I went to sleep, I was indeed too tired to care. But it was a decent sleep, though it felt strange sleeping in my old bedroom on this strange new piece of furniture. Of course, I’m used to sleeping on a futon, though I only have to do that for one more week.
Categories: Charlottesville, Family, Food and drink, Friends, Stuarts Draft, Walmart
And now we’re in Stuarts Draft…
June 23, 2007, 3:02 PM
And now I’m in Stuarts Draft, where I’ll be until Sunday. Visiting the parents, and spending some time with others as well. I went and visited Katie on the way back in. That was fun.
Then here, Mom’s been busy. She’s already redone my old bedroom. The bed’s gone, and there’s this new nautical-themed futon in there now. In fact, Mom went nautical on the whole thing. She even used some of my old ship posters and such as part of the decor. Additionally, there’s a new coffee table, plus that chair Mom bought at Ikea.
Also, here’s a weird sight – going down to Stuarts Draft from DC in the daytime. I took nearly 100 DC trips over a litle more than three years, and offhand I can think of maybe two where the return trip was made while it was light out. It was weird. The trip was so different. I saw so many things I wasn’t used to seeing. I know what it all looks like in the light in the towards-DC direction, but not in the other direction.
Categories: Family, Friends, House, Stuarts Draft